Anthropology is the study of humans as individuals and members of society. "Anthropology is the most humanistic of the sciences and the scientific of the humanities."

Monday, December 30, 2013

Where does GENDER fit in anthropology?

Anthropologically gender is an important variable because of its
biological origin, that is as a technical term, gender denotes one's
sexual function as a member of the species. From the evolutionary
perspective it is significant in terms of the biological mechanism that produces adaptations over time, and today in terms of the medical
consequences for the individual person as a biological organism.

Socially, these distinctions are and have been critical to the formation of human reproductive unit (the family) and the process of raising of an immature offspring to a sexually mature member of the group.
It also is important in the way society, the group, responds to
individuals born physically "different" from the local gender norm, or the behaviors that
differ from those norm. How a society adapts to these situations are
certainly anthropological questions.

Culturally, as many point out, gender is simply assumed by the members of a culture. They simple conform to the norms symbolism of dress, styles,
occupations, etc. The anthropological questions that relate to these gender
differences arise from the comparison between cultures and sub-cultures. Also the anthropologist is interested in the definitions and responses to deviance from these expected
differences.

While cultures and societies may address the gender issues differently,
the biological significance of gender to the species has, until the end
of the last century, been a critical element in the definition of the
human animal. Today, with fertility and transgender medical technology,
the biological imperative for gender is coming under
question and the human, social, and cultural responses are definitely a
subject for anthropological study.

Finally, the role of technology and gender raises another set of
questions where technology cancels out the physical advantages that once
were associated with the biological advantages one gender held over the
other. Again, these are anthropological questions about the biological nature of gender worthy of study.

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I am a professional applied anthropologist who applies a holistic perspective to the art and science of business and life coaching. I believe that your life is your business and your business is your life. Managing both requires understanding and balance, that is, a centrist pragmatic approach to life's problems. My motto is:"You can tell whether a person is clever by their answer; you can tell whether a person is wise by their question."